Reporting to the Emperor
After leaving Noble Consort Cen's place, Xiao Lingyan gave Xiao Liuzi a few small gold and jade items and gave him a few words of advice.
Xiao Liuzi went out, seized the opportunity, and found a chance to speak with the imperial eunuch. He said, "The Second Highness has gotten married and established his own residence. Now, the Imperial Concubine is focused on arranging a marriage for our Fifth Highness. Although the Fifth Highness has a girl he likes, he hasn't been able to win her over yet. The Prince is worried that the Imperial Concubine will arrange things for him, and he's also worried that someone else will snatch the girl away first."
"Eunuch Zhang, you serve the Emperor closely and are well-informed. If anyone comes to the Emperor requesting a marriage decree, whoever it may be, could you please pass on the message to us? The Fifth Highness said that anyone who passes on the message will be richly rewarded."
As he spoke, he secretly slipped the prepared gold and jade items to Eunuch Zhang, who was serving the emperor.
Eunuchs had no spouses or children, and once they grew old, only money could ensure some filial piety and prevent them from meeting a miserable end. Therefore, they were all greedy for money.
This Eunuch Zhang, surnamed Zhang, was in his thirties and had not been given important positions before. In the past year or two, by chance, he had caught the emperor's eye and was summoned to serve him. The money he had saved did not give him any sense of security.
Xiao Lingyan didn't want him to inquire about or pass on court secrets, nor did he want him to discuss news about other princes or concubines; he only wanted to know about the arranged marriage. In addition, Xiao Lingyan generous, so it was a pleasant job that was both easy and lucrative.
Eunuch Zhang was naturally very happy to take on this job.
He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on this for the Fifth Highness. As soon as someone comes to ask for a marriage decree, no matter who it is, I'll immediately send a message to your palace."
"Then I'll leave this matter to Eunuch Zhang."
Xiao Liuzi had specifically followed Xiao Lingyan's instructions and seized this opportunity to find Eunuch Zhang. This was not the time when Xiao Ge was reviewing memorials, and they were standing in a place where Xiao Ge could see them from inside the hall.
Therefore, as soon as Eunuch Zhang returned to the palace, Xiao Ge asked Eunuch Zhang, "What does Little Five's attendant want with you?"
Eunuch Zhang remained calm, showed Xiao Ge the gold and jade items he had obtained, and reported to Xiao Ge the matter that Xiao Liuzi had entrusted to him.
Xiao Ge waved his hand, not caring about the reward Eunuch Zhang received, and just laughed and scolded, "This lad, he doesn't come to me for help when he needs something, but sneaks around asking you to do things for him."
Eunuch Zhang chuckled, "The Fifth Highness hasn't won the young lady's heart yet. It's still far from settled, so it's certainly not appropriate for him to ask you for help. If you knew and told the Imperial Concubine, she would definitely be anxious to know which family's daughter it is, Fifth Highness would be under a lot of pressure. So His Highness has no choice."
"You old servant, you've received a reward, so you speak up for him," Xiao Ge said with a smile, pointing at Eunuch Zhang from afar.
Eunuch Zhang bowed deeply and showered the emperor with compliments. "That's because of His Majesty's benevolence."
"Alright, I understand," Xiao Ge said.
He was too busy with his affairs to care about which girl his son had a crush on. He figured he'd find out sooner or later anyway, so he didn't bother to inquire.
Although Xiao Ge suppressed the brothers Xiao Lingpu and Xiao Lingyan for the sake of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, and out of fear of the Cen Family, he still felt a natural fatherly affection for his sons. In the past six months, Xiao Lingyan had been visiting him from time to time to try and win his favor, and he had grown increasingly fond of his fifth son.
Therefore, he also took Xiao Lingyan's matter to heart.
Having made his name known to the Emperor, eliminating the possibility of a sudden marriage decree, Xiao Lingyan finally felt somewhat relieved.
Noble Consort Cen found an opportunity to summon Xiao Liuzi and question him for a long time, but Xiao Liuzi stubbornly insisted that he knew nothing.
Xiao Liuzi knew his master's personality well. If he dared to tell the Imperial Concubine about His Highness's affairs, even if she was His Highness's own mother, he would not have a good ending.
He hadn't forgotten that just half a year ago, His Highness had sent away the young eunuch who had served him for many years, which gave him the opportunity to serve by His Highness's side. With that lesson still fresh in his mind, he didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
While Xiao Lingyan was busy with the wedding arrangements, Fu Yunkai was feeling down and heartbroken at home, but Zhao Ruxi, like a scumbag, didn't care about any of this and went back to his career.
"Zhiwei, I called you here to ask you about the newspaper business," Madam Cui said to Zhao Ruxi, somewhat embarrassed.
The academy had caused Zhao Ruxi so much trouble, putting her directly in conflict with Consort Jin and Princess Pingyang. Therefore, when they encountered problems with the newspaper, the Eldest Princess and Madam Cui were too embarrassed to come to Zhao Ruxi for help.
Besides feeling embarrassed, the two also felt somewhat ashamed.
They were, after all, a princess and the administrator of the academy, both in their thirties or forties. Yet, even after Zhao Ruxi explained most of the ideas for starting a newspaper, they still couldn't get it up and running. Both of them felt ashamed.
Grand Princess Shangde had consulted the Emperor before even starting the newspaper project. She only began with his approval. Now that she was saying she wouldn't do it, she was not only unwilling to accept it, but she also wouldn't know how to explain it to the Emperor.
Therefore, Madam Cui had no choice but to bite the bullet and come to see Zhao Ruxi today.
"Master, you are too kind. I dare not accept the word 'please instruct me.' Please do not hesitate to ask for my advice," Zhao Ruxi said.
Madam Cui took out a newspaper and handed it to Zhao Ruxi: "This is a newspaper we made according to your instructions. Take a look and see if there are any problems."
Zhao Ruxi took a look.
The newspaper was about the same size as modern newspapers, and it was divided into several pages, just as she had originally suggested.
The first edition summarized some legal provisions related to women, and included two relevant case studies. The second edition promoted the importance of women's education and literacy. It also included two case studies on "knowledge changing destiny," but the real names were omitted.
The third edition was more lighthearted, offering some life hacks and including two recipes. The fourth edition was a serialized story.
Zhao Ruxi could tell at a glance that this story was written by Xu Xue.
The content itself is fine, but the layout is somewhat lacking.
In ancient times, vertical writing was the norm, so this newspaper was entirely laid out vertically, without borders or illustrations, making it appear very rigid and completely lacking in aesthetic appeal.
Most importantly, this newspaper was handwritten, entirely in beautiful, delicate calligraphy.
Zhao Ruxi immediately understood.
She asked, "Is there a printing problem?"
Madam Cui was not surprised by her intelligence.
She nodded and said, "Yes."
She pointed to the newspaper and said, "If the font is too big, the content of the newspaper will be too little; but if the font is this small, there will be problems with printing. Moreover, the borders and illustrations you mentioned are simply impossible to make. After looking into it, the only option is to use woodblock printing. Unfortunately, our sales volume is small, so this will increase the cost, and fewer people can afford it, which defeats the purpose of running a newspaper."